


songs of our youth

by Issay



Series: One-shot collection [14]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Character Death, Character Study, Multi, Mythology References, Non-Linear Narrative, Not A Fix-It, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-04
Updated: 2018-05-04
Packaged: 2019-05-02 05:22:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14537574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Issay/pseuds/Issay
Summary: They sing about heroes and happy endings, about how we will have our day in the sun again. They tell you to walk on, they tell you that at the end of this road there is a prize for all your suffering.*sigh* Infinity War compliant.





	songs of our youth

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not saying that MCU is the biggest troll in the universe but...
> 
> Spoilers, obviously.

We are not used to this lack of happy endings, are we?

Over the millennia we have gotten comfortable with the simple truth that after the labors and losses, after heartbreak and tragedy and war comes a new day. Sun shines on our heroes once again, gleams in their hair as they piece their torn bodies together, mend their armors, mourn their dead. There is a prize for their suffering: sometimes it's a kingdom, sometimes it's a princess, and sometimes it is peace. But there is always a happy ending, one way or another.

Fate smiles sadly and shakes her head, copper strands of her hair like pathways of blood and clot among the star paths.

For Thor this way has been a rather straightforward one. From princeling to golden child, to warrior, to leader, finally to king. He went through rage and war, through loss and destruction and hopelessness - he lost his mother and father, the sister he never knew, his kingdom, but gained in return himself in so many ways. Thor who watches Asgard burn is the one who will watch it rise once more.  
He didn't go through all of this to be left without award, did he?  
But then Death opens her wide, black maw and swallows it all, and as Thor clings to rapidly cooling body of his thrice lost brother, in one flash of terrible understanding, he knows how Hela became what she was.

There is no fairness in Thanos' story, don't be fooled. After all, the one who wields the Gauntlet will never be amongst those lost to wind and ash. It's a small injustice, especially in the face of all the other injustices. But an injustice nevertheless.

There never was justice for Gamora. There was cold, yes, and loneliness mixed with anger, a fire burning inside her brighter and hotter with every turn of the moon she spent with the mad titan. Think about it. Gamora who forgot the sound of her mother's voice and the names of her brothers, who knew kindness only when Thanos chose to give it. The little girl who wept in the night, quickly learning to do so silently or else her older adopted sibling would teach her a lesson in bruises and scratches. Gamora, who brought herself up against all odds, who loved that terrible man whose giant hands touched her head with equally terrible gentleness. Love mixed with hate is still love, after all.  
Gamora who craved to die amongst friends got only a few short years of warmth and laughter before the hands of her abuser - her father, her creator because as much as she hated to admit it he made her what she was, good and bad - tossed her to her death.  
There is no justice in that.

Thanos the Mad Titan could have been Thanos the Savior, or maybe Thanos the Good. He could have been a father, collecting orphans and teaching them how to survive, how to fight and how to never stray from what is good and moral. Instead, he became creator of monsters for monsters are easier to tame than children.

And let's talk about the betrayed lovers, the ones whose stories are the thing of myth, of legend, of dreams. Fated and against fate, not meant to be and made for each other at the same time. Wanda and Vision steal time, one day after another, a rainy afternoon in London and a foggy morning in Paris. She guides him through what is left of Sokovia and he takes her high up into the mountains to watch the sunrise. They never speak of love. She doesn't explain that new scar on her shoulder, and he doesn't tell her about how empty it was around the place they both once called home. Instead, they speak in soft kisses and featherlight touches, in whimpers and moaning into a pillow.  
Wanda dreams of a small townhouse in London, of bright-haired children playing in the park and of seeing Pietro in her son's eyes. There's smell of tea in the warm air and there are books everywhere, and...  
She dreams for him, she knows. When Wanda's asleep, Vision looks into her dreams lovingly so she dreams for them both.  
And this love - this love in hands held tighter every time they need to let go, this love stolen and held so dear - it does not change the world. Thanos doesn't choke on Wanda's despair under the hot Wakandan sun. Their love goes unseen, unrecognized in the grand scheme of things.

Romeo and Juliet at least brought peace to Verona. But in this story there is no legacy, only ash.

Steve feels betrayed when Bucky, his miracle, his long lost hope, his award for being so fucking brave for so long, slips through his fingers once again. It feels like he's on that train in the Alps again, will this train ever stop?  
On the other side of the galaxy Tony feels just as betrayed. He fought his way through it all, he looked at nature versus nurture and said fuck you both. He tried and tried and tried and his repayment is a child dying in his arms.  
Steve and Tony both grew up on the same stories - Greek myths of heroes and monsters, of how wit and perseverance always bring victory and an award from Fate.

These stories have betrayed you.

Thor walks through death and withstands rage of a burning star and in the end it is not enough.  
M'Baku looks around the battlefield and sees his men, his brothers, fall apart and disappear. He rages against it, but his rage isn't the kind that would stop the galaxy from ripping itself into pieces.  
Rocket - the last Guardian who doesn't know it yet - weeps because this time there isn't even a twig left. His grief makes Fate sigh and wipe her star-lit eyes, but it doesn't turn back time.  
Wanda is spared the endless heartache, the feel of Vision's smooth and lifeless skin is the last thing her body registers before becoming one with air.  
Steve finds himself speechless, Natasha standing guard and her fingers tight on Okoye's.  
Tony finds himself alone with Nebula. They understand one another very well, both part machines, both having lost everything in that one moment.

Somewhere, a red sun comes over the mourning galaxy.

Thanos smiles.

**Author's Note:**

> Check out other one-shots in the series - and leave a comment if you'd like. I always like a good prompt! :)


End file.
